Trauma And Recovery: Decoding Slaughterhouse-five From The Perspective Of Trauma Theory

Kurt Vonnegut is a famous contemporary American writer. He touches the heartsof American people with his unique subjects and unusual writing style.Slaughterhouse-Five, which was published in1969, is regarded as Vonnegut’s mostfamous and influential book. It establishes his position in American literature. Thenovel is based on Vonnegut’s own experiences in World War II. It describes thegreatest massacre in human history—Dresden’s bombing. Trauma theory originatedfrom1920s. For decades’ endeavor of psychologists, it has gradually become asystematic theory and has gradually applied in the literary field.This thesis decodes Slaughterhouse-Five from the perspective of trauma theory.It explores the trauma reflected on the main characters, writing skills and themes andanalyzes self-treatment and recovery after trauma. Through deep decoding, the thesisattempts to explore the enormous influence and trauma which wars bring to humanbeings, the writer Vonnegut’s views towards wars, science and life and the ways ofself-treatment and recovery after trauma. Decoding Slaughterhouse-Five from theperspective of trauma theory not only provides a new perspective of analyzing thenovel, but also provides a way of dealing with human’s mental disease after sufferingfrom trauma.The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is introduction. It givesa brief introduction to the writer, the novel Slaughterhouse-Five, the bombing inDresden and trauma theory. In chapter two, the thesis explores the trauma inSlaughterhouse-Five from three aspects: the characters, writing skills and themes. Through the deep decoding, it tries to interpret the enormous trauma which the warsbring to human beings. Combining with the therapy of trauma, the third chapternarratives the self-treatment and recovery embodied in the novel. It attempts toillustrate that self-treatment and recovery can be achieved through relief, writing andimagination. The fourth chapter is conclusion. It narratives the thesis’s main findings,implications, limitations and suggestions for future research.